There was more disappointment on Wednesday for a Montreal woman who has been searching for her missing 18-month-old daughter since 1978.
Two months ago, Liliane Cyr was contacted on Facebook by an American woman who claimed to be her daughter Yohanna, who disappeared on Aug. 15, 1978, while she was in the care of Cyr's then-boyfriend.
Pina Arcamone with the Missing Children's Network says the story was convincing enough to contact police and have DNA tests done on both the woman and Cyr.
"There were a lot of similarities, including a birthmark on the index finger of this woman in question," she says.
The woman also claimed she has a dairy allergy — a condition she shares with Cyr.
On Wednesday morning, however, the Missing Children's Network issued a statement saying that the DNA tests came back negative.
Arcamone says it's not the first time Cyr has been contacted by an American woman claiming to be her long-lost daughter — only to have her hopes crushed. A similar situation 12 years ago ended in disappointment, and Arcamone says Cyr was cautiously optimistic this time, preparing herself for disappointment.
"As you can imagine, there's disappointment all around, beginning with Liliane's family, but the American woman was well, who's searching for her origins," she says. "But, you know, we must continue to keep hope alive. We know someone out there has the answer."
PHOTO: CTV MONTREAL